From the region

WORCESTER — A city man accused of fatally beating his girlfriend pleaded not guilty to a murder charge at his arraignment Friday in Worcester Superior Court.

Robert Bell, 57, of 16 Hillside Ave., was initially charged with assault with intent to murder and assault and battery causing serious bodily injury after 51-year-old Christine Bolduc was found May 3, 2011, in a pool of blood in an alley next to 50 Millbury St. Authorities said the woman suffered severe head trauma.

Ms. Bolduc never regained consciousness, and a murder charge was lodged against Mr. Bell on July 23, 2012, in Central District Court, two days after Ms. Bolduc died in a local hospital.

Accompanied by his lawyer, David L. Larsen, Mr. Bell entered a not-guilty plea Friday and was ordered held without bail by Judge Janet Kenton-Walker. Assistant District Attorney Daniel J. Bennett told the judge he and Mr. Larsen had agreed that Mr. Bell should be held without bail without prejudice, which would enable Mr. Larsen to seek a bail hearing at a later date.

Prosecutors have said during earlier court hearings in the case that investigators uncovered surveillance video linking Mr. Bell to the slaying.

WORCESTER — A May Street man accused of stabbing his friend Thursday was arraigned in Central District Court Friday.

Yonairys Borrero, 25, of 20 May St., Apt. C, was arrested Thursday and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (knife). Judge David B. Locke continued the case to Feb. 7 and ordered Mr. Borrero held on $1,000 cash bail.

Police said Mr. Borrero was identified as one of two men who fought inside Mr. Borrero’s May Street apartment Thursday night. Shortly after the fight, the 32-year-old victim walked into Big Bob’s Liquors at 501 Southbridge St. suffering from a single stab wound to the back and asked store employees to call 911.

He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.

He told police he was involved in a fight with Mr. Borrero, who was arrested soon afterward and taken into custody.

WORCESTER — Police are investigating a home invasion in which a woman robbed a couple in their bedroom on Orne Street early Friday morning.

According to police, they went to an Orne Street apartment about 2:20 Friday morning. A male occupant told them he and his wife were in their bedroom watching television when a woman came in and demanded cash.

Police said the woman had a handgun. She was described as white, in her late 20s or early 30s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall with a thin build. She was wearing a dark jacket and a hood.

The woman searched the bedroom and left with a small amount of cash. Other family members were sleeping in other rooms, but did not wake up. There were no injuries.

Anyone with information on the home invasion can send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD + your message or can leave an anonymous Web-based message at worcesterma.gov. Calls can be made to the Detective Bureau at (508) 799-8651.

WORCESTER — Four men were arrested in a drug sweep Thursday night.

According to police, members of the vice squad conducted surveillance in several locations on Vernon Hill as part of an investigation into a heroin distribution network. The arrests came after police saw a Toyota Camry, which was the target of the investigation, make several stops along Vernon Street. The driver was later identified as Fabio Santos, 39, of 288 Walnut St., Clinton.

Police said Mr. Santos picked up a man later identified as Jake Tomlinson, 25, of 4 Harris St., Webster. The pair drove a short distance to Harlem Street, where Mr. Tomlinson got out holding an object in his hand and got into a Hyundai parked nearby.

When police approached the vehicle, they saw drug paraphernalia, and the occupants were removed, according to police. Police said half a gram of heroin was removed from the car. The occupants were arrested.

Mr. Santos was charged with heroin distribution and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Mr. Tomlinson was charged with possession of heroin, knowingly being present where heroin is being kept and conspiracy to violate a drug law.

Also arrested and charged were Clifford Regimbal, 34, of 54 Granite St., and Jeremy Regimbal, 24, of 493 Barker Road, Troy, Maine. The pair were charged with possession of heroin, knowingly being present where heroin is being kept and conspiracy to violate a drug law.

OXFORD — The Oxford man wanted for allegedly robbing a convenience store in November has been arrested in Arizona.

Keith Kirk (also known as Keith Gramer) of 4 Hammond St. is wanted for his alleged involvement in an armed robbery and car theft that took place at 5:30 a.m. Nov. 28 at Honey Bee Farms convenience store, 187 Sutton Ave., according to police.

The 59-year-old female clerk reported a masked man entered the store and said he had a gun. He demanded all the cash in the store, as well as the clerk’s cellphone and car keys. He disabled phone lines. The assailant stole the clerk’s 2010 Chevy Aveo.

Based on evidence uncovered by police, an arrest warrant was issued for Mr. Kirk.

Oxford police recently received information that Mr. Kirk had fled by bus from Boston to find work with a friend in Chandler, Ariz.

Mr. Kirk is being held at the Fourth Avenue Regional Lockup in Chandler, awaiting a court appearance to begin the rendition process with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office.

WORCESTER — Responding to safety concerns, school officials have changed the afternoon bus schedule to avoid having nearly 200 students at City Hall waiting for a Worcester Regional Transit Authority bus home.

The change began the first week of this year and affects students in most of the city’s alternative school settings, according to a memo from Worcester schools Chief Financial and Operations Officer Brian E. Allen. Previously, students in those programs, which draw teens from across the city, would take a WRTA bus to City Hall and then a school bus to their particular school. The process was reversed in the afternoon.

While the mornings never posed a problem and will remain the same, the afternoons were sometimes an issue. On “several occasions, some of our students were targeted by non-school-aged young adults for violence, and on other occasions, our students were in the vicinity of City Hall when there were instances of criminal activity by non-school-aged young adults,” Mr. Allen wrote.

The massive influx of students into that area was a problem, Police Chief Gary J. Gemme noted in December after a Dec. 10 fight in which man was stabbed near the 7-Eleven near City Hall.

The changes are the result of six to eight months of work and will not cost the district any extra money, according to Mr. Allen’s memo.

The preliminary budget of about $17.7 million represents a 4.06 percent increase over this year’s nearly $17 million budget.

Most of the projected budget growth is because of increases in mandatory special education services — expected to be $537,352 for the district in fiscal 2014. Those costs include outplacement tuition, special education transportation and occupational/physical therapy.

Also adding to next year’s budget are about $400,000 in contractual obligations to employees and about $30,000 in technology and telecommunications maintenance and other expenses.

The preliminary budget includes $200,000 worth of savings from forthcoming layoffs and about $100,000 more in savings from anticipated retirements, though Mr. Gobron cautioned that these figures were “fluid.”

The budget does not include several topics that had been targets in previous budget discussions, such as a new elementary school math specialist, additional non-teaching staff at Trottier Middle School and further implementation of technology in the classroom.

“It’s not what we want, but we’re not going to have to shut down the schools,” Mr. Gobron joked, adding that the budget will maintain a high level of education quality in fiscally difficult times.